The Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass is accepting holiday gifts to fulfill gift wishes of residents living in nursing homes. Now in its fifth year, the Silver Bells Holiday Gift Drive brings cheer for residents who will otherwise receive no gifts during the holidays.

"Residents living in long-term care facilities are often the forgotten faces of the holidays. We are thrilled the response to this project has increased since its beginnings. Last year's gift drive was an astounding success. Our goal was to collect enough gifts for 70 nursing home residents. After receiving many phone calls from people in the community asking how they could help, we exceeded our goal and collected enough items to deliver gift bags to 240 residents," said Sherry Culp, executive director of NHOA.

To learn more about specific resident wishes and to purchase a gift, call NHOA's office at (859) 277-9215. Gifts should be returned to NHOA's office, in the Lexington Senior Citizens Center at 1530 Nicholasville Road, no later than 4 p.m. Dec. 10. The gifts should be unwrapped and placed in a gift bag with the resident's name attached.

Fill a bag for International Book Project

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The International Book Project invites you to bag your books and help them fill libraries and schools around the globe this holiday season. Bags may be picked up at: Morris Book Shop, BabyCakes Cupcakes, NorthLime Coffee & Donuts, Bank of the Bluegrass, Wild Fig Book Shop and the International Book Project Office. The bags have the IBP's paper airplane logo on them and the slogan This Bag Changes Lives. The Bag Your Books event will be held through Jan. 3.

How to participate: Stop by a location and pick up a bag, fill the bag with new or gently used books you would like to donate, and return the bag to a participating location.

In 2012, Bids for Builds raised more than $11,000; this year's goal is $15,000. The online auction features almost 200 one-of-a-kind items and experiences such as: an NCIS autographed photo and script signed by Mark Harmon; a two-hour challenge course or equestrian vaulting experience at the Life Adventure Center; an autographed photo of Andrew Lincoln from the cast of The Walking Dead; Cincinnati Reds tickets for 2014; a Lexington Legends suite for a 2014 game; a private tour of West Sixth Brewing Co. and growler set; a weekend stay on a cattle ranch in the heart of bourbon country; a tour of the Joe Craft Training Center; concert tickets and UK memorabilia.

Trees donated for holiday celebration

Betty and Louis Fitzpatrick, Cyndi Dotson and Michael Walsh have donated blue spruce trees that will grace three downtown locations, where they will be decorated for the holidays.

The Fitzpatricks' 40-foot-tall tree, will be placed in Triangle Park. The Dotsons' a 25-foot-tall tree will be placed in front of the Kentucky Utilities building on Quality Street. Walsh's 30-footer will light up the Isaac Murphy Park.

"I love that our tree's going to be in Triangle Park," Betty Fiztpatrick said. "I like the thought of it being used for the community."

The three trees will be part of the annual official tree-lighting ceremony in downtown Lexington on Friday. Santa and Mayor Jim Gray are expected to flip the switch at 6:30 p.m. to light up downtown for Christmas.

Free Thanksgiving dinner at New Day

New Day Community Church will provide a free Thanksgiving Day dinner from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday at 530 North Martin Luther King Boulevard, across from Duncan Park. The event will feature music, testimonials and free food. For information, call (859) 233-1988.

Awards bestowed at diabetes fundraiser

The American Diabetes Association and UK HealthCare hosted World Tour for a Cure on Nov.1 at the RJ Corman Hangar in Nicholasville. Hundreds of people came together to raise awareness and money to stop diabetes in the Bluegrass. The association also honored the following volunteer award winners: Corporate Partner of the Year: Walmart Market 260; Family of the Year: the Rosenstein Family; Lawrence T. Smith Leadership Award: David L. Harris; R. Stewart Perry Cure, Care, Commitment Award: Diane Ballard; and Volunteer of the Year: G.D. Hieronymus.

More than 400,000 Kentuckians are living with diabetes. For information about how to become involved, contact the ADA office at (859) 268-9129.

Young scientists want your turkey grease

Lexington's annual Gobble Grease Toss will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday at Henry Clay High School, 2100 Fontaine Road. The used cooking oil collected from turkey fryers will be used by Henry Clay students to make biodiesel fuel as part of an engineering project.

Disposal of the cooking oil at the Gobble Grease Toss is free. Citizens are asked to bring the oil in a sealed container to help prevent spills. For those unable to dispose of used cooking oil or grease at the Gobble Grease Toss, cooking oil can be placed in a soup can or coffee can and allowed to harden in the refrigerator or freezer and then placed in a Herbie waste cart.

For information on the Gobble Grease Toss, call LexCall at 311 or (859) 425-2255, or visit Lexingtonky.gov.

Music student onstage at Latin Grammys

Drummer Amber Baker, a Lexington resident and student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, played alongside Spanish recording artist Alejandro Sanz during the 2013 Latin Grammy Awards, which aired Nov. 21 on the Univision Network.

Baker began playing drums at age 8 and graduated from Tates Creek High School in 2011. She is majoring in film scoring at Berklee. Her parents, Elaine and Terry Baker, live in Lexington. Her father, also a drummer, has played with Kirk Franklin and on albums by Aretha Franklin, Regina Belle and Donnie McClurkin.